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The conscious section of people as well as
various non-government organisations (NGOs) that work for protecting
the environment in this country have long since been speaking out for
well-planned, sustainable steps for protecting the environment.
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They have time and again pointed to the
various UN conventions and resolutions made at various international
seminars and symposia, including the convention of Rio de Janeiro in
the year 1992, to all of which Bangladesh happens to be signatory, and
made repeated appeals to the government to implement them. Not that
these appeals have been heeded to with any remarkable seriousness.
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Neither the government, nor the two major
political parties in the country who have formed governments more than
once since the emergence of independent Bangladesh has made definite
pledges to the people about implementing these pledges within a given
timeframe. The NGOs, including the Forum of Environmental Journalists of
Bangladesh (FEJB), had been working as a conscience-keeper of the
government agencies in this regard. They have been repeatedly pointing
out where things were going out of hand and where time was running out.
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Successive governments have agreed to the
necessity of protecting the environment of Bangladesh and the urgency
of those needs-especially in view of the fact large scale
industrialisation has not taken place here as yet and that there was
still time to act. Various UN agencies that have representative
offices here at Dhaka have indefatigably been keeping the national press
updated about the environmental issues and the press has always taken
the cue for doing its professional duty.
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Taking part at a national consultation in
the metropolis last Monday, government officials, donor representatives,
experts and media representatives agreed on the need for continued
interactions among themselves for carrying out the programmes for
sustainable development in line with the landmark 1992 Rio Earth Summit
in Brazil.
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The national consultation was organised to
review preparations for the upcoming Rio plus 10 summit to be held in
South Africa next year-as a follow-up of the Rio Summit. All this is
very good and encouraging stuff. But participants at various seminars,
symposia, workshops and consultations do not appear to agree about the
priority of the works that need to be followed in this country. To some
it is the air pollution that needs to be attended to first, while to
others it is the arsenic contamination of ground water that should get
the topmost priority. Priority is of utmost importance in a country
handicapped by limitation of resources.
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The participants at the consultation were
of the opinion that the government ought to take the lead role in
implementing the Agenda 21-the Agenda for 21st Century in all spheres.
They underlined the need for taking stock of the work done in the last
ten years since the Rio summit and need for preparing for the Rio 10
plus summit to ‘highlight our concerns’. According to some
participants at the consultation, Bangladesh should highlight its
magnitude of natural disasters along with the progress it has already
made in the environmental sector, including the landmark national
Environmental Management Plan (NEMAP). This again is very good, as far
as making plans go. But then, there would always be critics to ask the
pertinent question how far have we gone in matters of implementing the
plans.
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The global scenario has undergone
significant changes, participants rightly pointed out, since 1992, and
that the changes have been marked by the emergence of a civil society or
private sectors that has made the United Nations (UN) to do everything
to protect its credibility with endorsements of the global community
rather than of the governments alone.
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It was during this period of time that the
world had experienced sever food scarcity, worst environmental
degradation and massive corruption alongside the increased yields and
knowledge about environmental issues as well as increased awareness of
the people. Well that was about all in connection with Bangladesh’s
initial preparations for the upcoming Rio 10 Plus summit.
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Meantime, recent seminars and discussion
meets arranged by other fora have called for a ‘firm political
commitment’ to combat the massive environmental degradation in
Bangladesh. Participants at these discussion meetings regretted that the
political parties had so far never incorporated environmental issues in
their political agenda. This smacked of their lack of farsightedness-as
a result of which it will be difficult to check environmental
degradation in the days to come.
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In many such discussion sessions over the
last couple of months or so speakers and participants pointed to the
urgent need of effectively combating the arsenic contamination of ground
water over the large part of Bangladesh. This calls for a comprehensive
and accurate study of the problem and a specific timeframe for facing up
to the challenge. If a delegation must go to the Rio 10 plus summit, it
should go there well prepared and with a precise brief of the devastating
magnitude of the problem that was staring Bangladesh and parts of the
Indian state of West Bengal in the face. The FEJB men refrained from
speaking out in this regard at their consultation for reasons best known
to them.
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The more ardent advocates of a wholesome
environment for Bangladesh have been crying horse about the necessity of
creating the right kind of mass awareness in Bangladesh with a view to
building up a ‘people’s resistance’ necessary to fight
environmental degradation. All that is easier said than done-the more
conscious section of the people observe. Other environmentalists think
it is more important to prepare a database of the more than 6,000
species of plants in the country-for they stood threatened by a sordid
process of extinction due to their mindless destruction by man.
Meantime, the diversity of microorganisms also stands threatened by
the almost regular annual floods in this deltaic plain. No less
important is the problem of waste-management-that, unless taken care of
at an early stage, could attain an unmanageable magnitude.
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Well, one could go on making an almost
endless list of works to be done pertaining to protection of
environment. What we need is a specific national policy with a list of
priorities to get down to the brass tacks.
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Source: The Financial Express, 4 October, 2001 |